WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Doctor-Lite Stories have offered a lot of variation in the Doctor Who formula, with the opportunity for the companion or other one-time characters to shine on their own with character driven storylines. Experimental stories of value have come about through the Doctor-Lite formula. 73 Yards certainly fits into this with Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday leading the whole thing in a story that is unlike anything else in Doctor Who history. How well does it succeed? Let's take a look.
73 Yards begins with the Doctor and Ruby landing at a clifftop in the middle of Wales as they accidentally step upon a fairy circle and a bunch of scrolls which say, “Rest in peace Mad Jack.” This one act brings mysterious and untold consequences with the Doctor disappearing and a mysterious woman following Ruby everywhere she goes, always distant from 73 Yards away. Ruby struggles with everybody abandoning her and, unable to find answers, she finds it difficult to progress and move forward with her life. With the threat of Roger Ap Gwilliam, Ruby hopes to find her purpose.
73 Yards was the first episode filmed in the season, with Ncuti Gatwa still filming Sex Education they decided to focus the episode upon Ruby and give her an emotionally satisfying story to tell. Doctor-Lite Stories in concept should be a bad idea as you are stripping Doctor Who of its basic appeal, and its central character, which draws audiences to the show. The truth is that it’s opened the door for unique and memorable stories. The thing that makes them work is the sense of vulnerability and extra stakes in the story. When the Doctor is present, there is a sense of comfort that the Doctor knows how to handle a threat. Without the Doctor, the audience is less aware of the logistics of the danger and the characters less equipped and well prepared to handle the present threat. This is felt throughout 73 Yards as you feel the stakes and emotional turmoil that lies upon Ruby Sunday as a character. This gives the story a mysterious sense of the unknown, which is very appealing.
The opening part of the story and the central concept leans heavily into horror and Welsh folklore in an interesting and unnerving manner. It plays on superstition and uses its dark and isolated atmosphere in a way which personally impacts Ruby. There is something powerful about the story and the unfolding of events right from the moment where the episode begins. The fairy circle has this enigmatic feeling of danger when the Doctor and Ruby disturb it. It has this feeling of a magical curse, which feels concerning. Everything from the Welsh setting, the fairy circle, the isolated pub with hostile characters and the rural feel gives the story an atmosphere, aesthetic and feeling of real tension. All the individual ingredients in the front half of the episode creates the backbone which the story is based upon. All the central ideas spawn from a single point, which is very precise and clever. The story uses its spookiness, its foreshadowing and a lot of preconceptions and inbuilt superstitions, myths and ideas to its advantage to create the idea and feel of the episode. There is a very eerie, hostile and vulnerable feel to the story, which I really admire. Ruby is alone, feeling pursued without a support network and without answers, which makes you feel for her uncertain position. The Wales setting at the start of the story is very memorable and gives the story a needed intensity. On the first watch I was unsure about the vagueness of the story but on rewatch I think it’s part of the story’s strength and ability.
The feel and the mystery of the episode is a part of it and any kind of answers couldn’t live up to the mystery and enigma which the episode creates. It gives the story a very bold, unpredictable, and spooky feeling. It once again pushes Doctor Who beyond the scientific and into the supernatural and magic territory. If Doctor Who is going to stray into more fantastical ideas, I think this story sums up the potential and scariness that can come from it. There is a mysterious feeling of a curse throughout the story, but you don’t know the purpose or logistics of it, which only makes the strangeness of the story more compelling.
I wanna have a look at the main menace and idea of the story with the mysterious woman who follows Ruby everywhere, a woman who is 73 Yards away at all times. There is an uncomfortable disconcertion in the concept and in the imagery of someone always being there, always present but never approaching. The idea of never being alone and always having someone there and watching you preys on an uncomfortable sense of anxiety which is very chilling. It’s what the mysterious woman does and the impact she has on Ruby and her life that makes the story what it is. The way she turns people against Ruby makes the character feel isolated and alone and gives the story very personal stakes. There is a thrilling mystery though about what the woman could be doing or saying to turn so many against Ruby, including her own family. The answers to these questions can’t possibly be satisfying and it’s more intriguing to leave them to audience interpretation.
The revelation in the end that the mysterious woman was Ruby all along is a very clever and interesting twist. There are supernatural abilities and oddities at play, and how it works can’t exactly be explained. I like it when Doctor Who occasionally deals with things that don’t have scientific and rational explanations and things are left mysterious and unknown. The story is much more gripping when you let the feel of it carry you through the episode, as it’s not meant to be understood. The whole thing is meant to be vague and invite discussion, which is part of the compelling nature of it. Everyone will have a slightly different interpretation of who the mysterious woman is and what happened in the episode which is beautiful. Russell T Davies leaves it up to you as the viewer to piece things together and work things out for yourself, which credits the audience with a sense of intelligence.
The horror and the character driven storytelling is what ultimately pulls the story together and helps it to succeed. However, there are fans who I’ve heard claim this is one of the best Doctor Who stories ever, and I wouldn’t credit it to that degree. Even within this season, I think Boom and the Devil’s Chord are stronger and more concrete stories. The strongest part of the story is the opening part set in Wales. The horror aesthetic, spookiness and dark fairy tale feel appealed to me a lot. The focus upon the mysterious woman helps drive the personal stakes across the story. However, as the story veers more away from that, it loses a lot of its strength. It would have been a stronger overall story if it had maintained that feel all the way through. The episode as it is feels too spliced together with varying parts. It is true that Doctor Who has a magic in being able to merge different genres. However, it’s usually successful in committing to a genre and feel in the aims of a consistent story. The political subplot feels tacked on at the end and jarring compared to the rest of the story.
Russell T Davies does have a skill at political commentary, but the key is usually time and development. I don’t think 73 Yards has much time to make much of a point. Aneurin Barnard as Roger Ap Gwilliam has a lot of strength in his performance. He has a charisma but also a dangerous narcissism. He seems to be a kind of cross between Donald Trump and Andrew Tate. His charisma gives him a following and an appeal, but the danger of his objectives and power-hungry reasons for his actions and careless attitudes towards people is overlooked. This back half of the episode has some solid ideas, but it doesn’t have the time to actually develop and deliver on them. The reality of 2046 and the stakes of the world at that time aren’t given any sort of texture or depth which is unfortunate. It could have done with more world-building and breathing room to succeed. Having more time with Ruby as a part of that dangerous environment and world would have sold the danger of the story much more effectively. Roger Ap Gwilliam, as a character, also isn’t given the energy to be any sort of menace or to have any dimension or weight to him. He is similar to Vivienne Rook from Years and Years and there are mirrors between the previous drama from Russell T Davies and this episode. However, Years and Years had time to flesh things out and make a point. I think as a two parter with the reveal of Roger Ap Gwilliam being the cliff-hanger, I think this subplot would have worked better. It would have given more time and nuance to the 2046 reality. The subplot in the end result does not offer much and it feels like a waste of a lot of good ideas.
However, I think 73 Yards is a case where it’s whole works better than the sum of its parts. Whatever you think of the political subplot, I think it works mechanically, and its function works for the point the story is making and what it’s trying to achieve. It's about Ruby stepping up and doing something important with her power and that idea thrives. The foreshadowing of Roger Ap Gwilliam has a lot of setup, but the reality is very vague and meaningful. From my point of view, it’s Ruby trying to find meaning in something which is purely a coincidence. The character driven nature of the episode is what pulls things together.
Now I’m gonna tackle Millie Gibson in her role as Ruby Sunday, who I adore in this episode. Considering this is the first episode which she filmed, the end result is both impressive and remarkable. Millie Gibson has a bright future ahead of her with her skill and variety which she brings to the table. What I continue to marvel at is the reality, nuance and believability in her performance, which really makes you invest and believe in Ruby as a character. From the moment the Doctor is stripped away, and she sees the mysterious woman lingering, there is a disconcertion and an anxiety to Ruby which is very relatable. The emotional and difficult situation in the pub with the hostile strangers personifies this strongly.
I like how the story slowly strips any kind of hope and support away from Ruby. Ruby loses the Doctor; she loses her mother and family and with UNIT turning against her, Ruby loses any chance of help and any way of getting back up on her feet. There is a sense of despair in Millie Gibson’s performance, which is very meaningful. Her emotion and pleading towards her Mum is incredibly heartbreaking. You feel the strain of everybody turning against her and the loneliness and vulnerability of losing those closest to her. The moment when Kate Stewart and UNIT turn against her is very impactful as it signifies Ruby losing her last sense of hope in getting to the bottom of this thing. Ruby is clearly doing her best under the circumstances and with time available to her, but with a lack of resources and people to help her you feel the strain on her. 73 Yards is a very personal story that tracks the life and experience of an individual through Ruby Sunday and how the constant presence of this mysterious woman shapes and changes her. You feel the ties and personal journey and Millie Gibson carries the story with so much nuance and incredible emotion and reality. There is a relatable struggle in seeing her try to move forward with her life but feeling restrained. In the end, Ruby finds a purpose in herself as she steps up to do the right thing and uses the power she has for good, which is very satisfying. Amanda Walker plays the older version of Ruby Sunday. You feel the weight of loneliness which lies upon Ruby with profound emotion. The story is centred around Ruby and it’s about her serving her penance across her lifetime for her transgressions at the start of the episode. By an act of moral good in stopping Roger Ap Gwilliam, she makes up for her wrongdoing. It’s a fittingly mysterious and emotional story for Ruby.
You have a varied guest cast across the story who fit into the episode rather well. The characters who feature in the pub certainly do a good job of creating a hostile and creepy environment. Michelle Greenidge and Angela Wynter return as Carla and Cherry Sunday and feel like very believable and human characters which root Ruby well. Michelle Greenidge sells the emotion of when she turns against Ruby with hard hitting drama. You also have the return of Kate Stewart played by Jemma Redgrave, who brings a lot of reliable and trustworthy authority, control and expertise as well as an affection for the Doctor. The bluntness as she turns against Ruby has an appropriate darkness and emotional gravity. Marti Bridges, played by Sophie Ablett, is also an addition who compliments the story of Roger Ap Gwilliam well. There are dark implications of abuse, and you get a severe sense of suffering from the performance.
The story is directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, whose previous work includes the TV series Servant and a short film called the Devil’s Harmony. A large amount of the scariness, suspense and creepiness of this story comes from the directing and the imagery which creates the atmosphere and the whole feel of the episode incredibly. I love the way the frame moves with the characters in the opening scene, so the fairy circle is unexpected when the Doctor and Ruby bump into it. I love the intimate focus on Ruby across the episode as a way to make her feel isolated and alone. The gradual close in on Ruby combined with the close in on the mysterious woman when Ruby first notices her creates a very spooky atmosphere that sets the story in motion wonderfully. The intense closeups of the pub scene makes everything feel disconcerting and grave and the mysterious woman always being shot from afar keeps the story cleverly from the perspective of Ruby. There is also a heightened emotion to the visual imagery of the story. The use of slow motion as Carla turns against Ruby is a great way of selling the emotional stakes and the shot of Ruby trapped on the other side of her flat in darkness personifies her state of life at this point in time. 73 Yards is a story that needed a certain kind of direction which Dylan Holmes Williams provides.
So overall, what did I think of 73 Yards? I think it’s a very well made and well-constructed story which surrounds Ruby Sunday and her story. You get incredible emotion and an impressive performance from Millie Gibson, as the story follows the journey of Ruby serving penance for her actions. The concept of the mysterious woman has a proper spookiness to it, and I like the way the story plays with Welsh folklore and the vagueness, magic and open interpretation of the story makes it captivating. However, whilst I think it’s a strong episode it would have been an incredible two parter and some parts of it feel wasted. Its weak spot is in its political subplot. It feels a little jarring and tacked on at the end of the episode with not enough texture or world-building. In the end the story comes together through its creepiness, emotionally satisfying story for Ruby and the powerful and eerie mystery.
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